Hey guys, welcome back! And today I’d like to discuss with y’all… what really defines an author.

So, to answer this probably very vague question, I first visited my go-to info website, Wikipedia. And, here’s what good ol’ Wiki had to say about the definition of an author…

An author is narrowly defined as the originator of any written work and can thus also be described as a writer (with any distinction primarily being an implication that an author is a writer of one or more major works, such as books or plays). More broadly defined, an author is “the person who originated or gave existence to anything” and whose authorship determines responsibility for what was created.

Now, okay, that’s a lot to digest… but let’s think about this for a moment.

An author is a writer. 

Okay, yeah, we all knew that… But, specifically…

The distinction (between writer and author) is the fact that an author writes at least one major work.

The examples Wiki gives as ‘major works’ are books and plays. So, the category of author would also include anyone coined as a playwright or novelist, wouldn’t it? But… what about other major works? What even defines a major work?

To get technical, ‘major’ (as defined by dictionary.com in this case) means “great, as in rank or importance”, and ‘work’ is defined as “a task or undertaking; a product of exertion, labor, or activity”. So… how broad does it seem, now? 

Truly, though, I believe any writer who writes at least one ‘major work’ can be categorized as an author. This includes poets, short story writers, and even musical composers. As long as someone writes down something that is both original and important to him or herself, then I think they have the write (I know that’s wrong, but it’s punny, write?) to say that they are an author.

More broadly speaking, an author is someone who gives life to something and is responsible for what he or she had created. 

Now, according to that definition, I guess you could count parents as authors, but that’s not what we’re going to focus on.

If you’ve created an imaginary friend, you can be an author.

If you’ve imagined all the people livin’ life in peace, then you can be an author.

If you’ve dreamt up the tale of a group of elderly women going skydiving one last time before they all kicked the bucket, you can be an author.

If you’ve given life to something and take responsibility for your imaginative creation, then you are an author.

Now… you just have to accept your title. If you truly believe you can be defined as an author… well, then be an author!

I know you want to… and I know you can.

Be the person who originated or gave existence to something!

-iKari